Wilder-Fury set for Dec. 1, venue to be determined

After much skepticism, Deontay Wilder and Tyson Fury will officially square off for the world heavyweight title on December 1. All that is left, is figuring out where the Showtime-televised pay-per-view will be staged.

Sources tell FightNights.com that Wilder-Fury will likely take place at Staples Center in Los Angeles.

“Just signed my portion of the contract for the Wilder vs. Fury fight, it is officially on,” the unbeaten Wilder (40-0, 39 KO's) said on Instagram. “It’s going to be an exciting fight. It's going to be an explosive fight. It’s going to be a fight for the legacy.

“It’s going to be a pleasure: the two best heavyweights competing against each other. I just beat, in my opinion, one of the best heavyweights in Luis Ortiz, and now I’m going for the next best in the heavyweight division.”

The press tour will officially begin Oct. 1 in London and will also feature stops in New York and Los Angeles.

Fury (27-0, 19 KO's) became a three-belt unified world titleholder with an upset unanimous decision over Wladimir Klitschko. He did not box in 2016 or 2017 to battle cocaine addiction, depression, as well as weight problems. However, Fury, who once promised to be the most charismatic heavyweight champion since Muhammad Ali, ended his hiatus in June, when he stopped Sefer Seferi in four rounds, and the English fighter easily defeated Francesco Pianeta before 25,000 fans at Windsor Park in August as Wilder watched from ringside. Fury also accepted backdated two-year doping ban last December after a urine test revealed he had elevated levels of the banned steroid nandrolone in his system following his win over Christian Hammer in February 2015.

Despite all that has taken place, Fury remains the lineal heavyweight champion.

“I just signed my end of the contract for the Wilder fight, signed, sealed and delivered,” Fury, 30, said on his official Instagram. "Deontay Wilder, you’re going to get it, mate. You’re in big trouble. I’ve never met a man I couldn’t beat in a boxing ring or outside in the street.

“I know you got a big punch, I know you’re unbeaten, I know you got a big mouth, and I know you want to win. But you don’t want it like I do. You can’t beat me. I will out-heart you. I will force my will upon you until you quit. That’s a promise. That chin is going nowhere. That chin will absorb all your power, and I’ll detonate it.”